Come over to the dark side for a Hotel Chocolat giveaway

Why is it that darkness always comes with negative connotations? The Dark Side of the Force (cue heavy breathing, a shiny black mask and “Luke…. I AM your father!!”). The Dark Continent. A bit of a dark horse. The Heart of Darkness. A dark mood. Personally, if I were Darkness, I would fire my current PR company and get a new one!

And yet despite all of this bad PR, I actually like a little darkness in my life (after all… I was a teenage Goth. Or at least I tried to be, but I struggled to give up the healthy tan and blonde highlights!!). Not for me the unbearable lightness of being – give me dark humour any day of the week. And, of course, dark chocolate. Anything else is just cheating.

When the lovely folk at Hotel Chocolat offered to send me a sample from their collection of chocolate Christmas gifts, and asked if I had any preferences, there was no hesitation from my side – dark dark dark all the way please!

Hotel Chocolat is a British-owned luxury chocolate manufacturer founded in 1993 and now has 43 stores throughout the UK. WHen they acquired the Rabot Estate in St Lucia in 2006, they also became the first UK chocolate manufacturer to own their own cocoa estate from which to manufacture their products, giving them total control over the quality of the final product. The company is also proud of their ethical track record, striving to improve the quality of life of their cocoa farmers in St Lucia and Ghana.

Now it is one of the quirks of my tastebuds that I can leave chocolate untouched in my cupboard till the sell-by date has come and gone (but leave me in charge of a packet of crisps and you had better prepare yourself for buying a replacement packet!) Not for me the mid-afternoon “chocolate” fix that my colleagues seem to crave (Messrs. Snickers, Mars and KitKat) – chocolate has to be indulgent and pretty damn special to tempt me. And I have to say that the hotel Chocolat Christmas collection ticks both those boxes. The chocolates look appropriately sensual, with their dark palette (just a smidgeon of chille here; some Christmas glitter there). Unlike some chocolate selections, the chocolate itself is outstanding – not only does it have a mirror-shiny appearance, but also the deeply satisfying snap of properly tempered chocolate and a deep, complex, almost fruity flavour.

Fillings are varied and intriguing. From the baubles in plain 70% cocoa dark chocolate, we move on to dark chocolate with chilli or orange; through traditional fillings like gianduja, dark caramels or crunchy praline; and then on to my more unusual favourites: pear frangipane, single malt smoothie, sticky toffee clementine, and their alternative Christmas pudding (boozy and addictive!). I can’t think of a single flavour that I have tried that did not appeal to and indulge all my senses.

Of course, Christmas chocolate is not all about dark & mysterious truffles – there is room for more frivolous creations too, like this rather delightful cookie & caramel crunch mini Christmas wreath; or to give yor Christmas guests a special treat, you could hand out Christmas crackers filled with chocolate. To give is better than to receive, after all 😉

And on that topic, now it’s my turn to give something to YOU! Hotel Chocolat have kindly agreed to send a box of their Signature Dark Collection chocolates to one of my lucky readers in Europe, the USA or South Africa! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post (please leave either your e-mail address or twitter handle so I can contact you) by midnight on Monday 20 December (GMT). You can also tweet about this giveaway (be sure to use the hashtags #hotelchocolat AND @cooksisterblog in your tweet so I can find you!) by midnight on Monday 20 December (GMT) – if you comment and tweet you will have two chances of winning! I will randomly select the winner after entries close and will announce their name shortly thereafter. Good luck!

If you enjoyed reading this, please consider sharing it using the social media buttons below the post. I'd also love to hear what you thought about this post so please do leave a comment below. Hope to see you again soon!

Last time I popped by one of their shops, I bought this Chocolate Penne pasta http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk/cocoa-pasta-P500070/ Has anyone tried to make it, and with what results? It’s one of these impulse buys that I haven’t managed to figure out a way to put into practical use yet, but I’d love some suggestions!

Ooh, me, me! *jumps up and down frantically waving both hands and trying to look like someone who deserves chocolate* P.S. It was very hard being a blonde Goth, wasn’t it? No-one took us seriously. Le sigh.

Oooh they look gorgeous – i love dark chocolate I like the way Hotle Chocolat always do something a bit different! You’ve reminded to quickly put in an order at HC for last minute christmas pressies! C x

Not quite sure if I am currently on the dark side, or the heaven side or the I-do-not-know-what-side, but I am in a very happy place at the moment. Cannot stop looking at these photos, ooh-ing and aah-ing. Thank you for sharing these yummy, dark chocolate ‘beauties’. (@narrylikes)

oooh oooh oooh .. Pick me pick me pick me … I have found that chocolate is an acceptable form of payment in terms of a bribe, but dark chocolate, well now, that just takes the bribe to a whole new level! What does one have to do to bribe you to be the recipient of this wonderful giveaway .. more dark chocolate. I would promise my first born, but he is rather large and cumbersome and wouldn’t fit into the post box (I have tried) and sadly he is 1800 km’s away .. what else would tickle your fancy? My email is rob.gobey@gmail.ocom

My sister bought be Hotel Chocolat Chili Chocolate for Christmas last year; it was DELICIOUS. I think she’d love this box, if I won. Email address is fatso@fatgirlslim.org – I’ll also be tweeting about it @iknowitsforreal!

I’m always looking for dark chocolate to share with my husband, he is not a chocoholic like me and will only eat dark. These are beautiful, like little works of art. A fitting gift for anyone, male or female.

Are you kidding me? Currently planning a trip to London and then Paris and was actually feeling a bit worried I would not be able to find English lovelies to try. Consider me cured! and for goodness sake, put me in the drawing! Thanks!!!

I’ll come over to the dark side. Dark chocolate, in small amounts, is a known antioxident. And, as a two time breast cancer survivor, winning this chocolate is a medical necessity. I promise to only eat one piece a day.

These pictures make my mouth water! I have made truffles and understand the amount of work (and cost) that goes into making these luscious gifts. I would love to receive and share a box of Hotel Chocolat Signature Dark Collection….hopefully I’m in tme….Kristyp50@yahoo.com

Is chocolate something to fear — is it really a curse? Is it something to be avoided, or is it much worse? OH NO!!!! chocolate the eighth wonder…a total delight!!! Something you savor and love with all your might!!!!! (¯`v´¯) `*.¸.*´ Deb

AAARRGGHHHH!!! I have missed this by a matter of hours….damn those dastardly dark moments that have kept me away from this blog until now! Now its Hello Darkness my old friend for me…..my days and nights will never be the same since I cast eyes on these amazing photographs and your descriptions of these dark and dandy luscious chocolates. I am DESOLATE like only darkness can be…..unless I were any one of these amazing chocolates. Why did I have to know about them? Now I am going to spend my life wondering what I am missing!! Like you I am a lover of decadent DARK chocolate. I savour each morsel…love this post. Well done Jeanne. And to that dark horse who will win this awesome prize….may darkness prevail haha…and I mean that in such a good way :o) xx

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Jeanne Horak-Druiff is a freelance food and travel writer as well as a recipe developer and photographer. She is a South African by birth and a Londoner by choice who has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Please get in touch to commission work from her. Read More…